What happens to my vagina after a baby?

23 Jun What happens to my vagina after a baby?

What happens to your lady parts after having a baby can be different from woman to woman and can be affected by the size of your baby, the duration of your labor, whether you had a forceps delivery, and even your genes. The vagina itself has an amazing ability to stretch to allow the passage of the baby and then stretch back, but the surrounding pelvic muscles can weaken, which does make it feel a bit roomier down there.

This extra room can make sex less pleasurable for you and your partner, but don’t despair — you can do something about it. Just like you need to hit the gym to get your postbaby body, you need to work out your pelvic floor muscles with Kegel exercises to get your tone back. Imagine you are urinating and are trying to stop the flow — these are the muscles you want to clench to do Kegels — although you should not do this while you are actually urinating. Work yourself up to three sets of 10, three times a day. And be patient: Kegel exercises usually take at least two to four weeks before you start noticing results.

The beauty of Kegels is that you can do them anywhere and nobody can tell! If these do not help, there are surgical procedures that can tighten that area, but you want to make sure you are finished with childbearing before you consider these options.

So how long do you need to wait before having sex after a baby? Generally until your six-week visit with your OB, during which she can check you and make sure everything has healed properly and you are ready to get back in the saddle. This time period may vary a bit, depending on whether you have had a C-section or a vaginal delivery, but it is always good to check with your doctor first.